Despite a series loss to the Seattle Mariners, the Red Sox remain somewhat competitive thanks to an “unlikely” hero. It’s no secret that Triston Casas, before this week, hadn’t played up to his offensive potential as he was slashing just .167/.241/.250. When he made his big league debut back in 2023, he was hitting about the same, .135 with a .528 OBP, yet he still managed to rank third in American League Rookie of the Year voting, so he’s no stranger to a slow start. When asked how he feels about his current at-bats at the beginning of this year, he said, “The confidence is high.” However, the first month of the 2025 season has been the worst of his career so far. In the first 23 games of this season. Cora, while still defending him to the masses, adjusted by moving Casas down to the six or seven spot from cleanup, where he started the season and is trying to return.

Casas has always shown an extremely disciplined work ethic at the dish, oftentimes knowing the strike zone more than the umpire who stands behind him. Truly, if young players are out there watching a Red Sox game, he is who you’d want to study when learning the art of knowing and expanding the zone. The 6’4 lefty was the Red Sox’s first pick in the 2018 draft, and as he’s matured in the majors, his talent has just continued to grow, all while remaining true to himself throughout as well. There has been a stereotype around what a baseball player “is”; however, players like Casas, who are not afraid to be vulnerable or goofy, and talk openly with the press, are slowly changing the rules that traditionally established how baseball players were supposed to act. He’s no stranger to the backlash that comes with displaying his individuality, and as Casas himself noted in The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox, the hate from those who can’t accept him is what fuels his successes.

Sure, the beginning of this season hasn’t been groundbreaking; most could argue that he hasn’t even been good. They are the same people who are already getting frustrated and trying to ship him out for a trade piece later this season. It’s hard to watch people lose faith in a homegrown talent who has supported this team through some of the roughest seasons in recent Red Sox history. He started showing signs of life in the series against the White Sox with the walk-off double off the monster, and while he is still getting in the groove totally, he’s starting to look like himself again. Before the Seattle series, Casas began to adjust the cage with the hitting coach, and the fans’ favorite enemy, hitting coach Pete Fatse. Casas made a minor mechanical tweak, moving the positioning of his hands further away from his body, and so far, he has seen only positive results. After the change was made, Triston hit two home runs in two games, one of which came late in the game, giving fans hope not just that the Red Sox could maybe pull off a comeback late in the game, but also that the Casas of yore is starting to come back to us.

According to The Athletic, Casas said, “An adjustment was necessary. I felt like I was getting to a good spot, timing-wise, and still missing the ball. So, might have just been the way my barrel was entering the zone.” Now, the same naysayers who are trying to ship Casas to, ironically enough, Seattle (or St. Louis) could make the point that out of the entire homestand that concluded yesterday with a 4-3 loss to the Mariners, Casas only had three hits. But the three hits were the walkoff double, Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s three-run home runs. Those three hits, if you’re looking at them under a microscope, are a clear indication that the adjustments he’s made with Fatse not only are working, but are giving him the tools he needs to get back to being the Red Sox’s secret offensive weapon. Casas also mentioned in his discussion with the press, “I’ve got really long arms, long levers, so maybe trying to stay so tight to my body isn’t such a good thing,” when referring to his rocky beginning to the season. “I need to work on getting extended and catching the ball a little more out front (with the bat), and it could start with my stance. Me and Pete and the rest of the staff have been working really hard on it, just trying to get it right. The last couple days have been a good indication of hopefully good things to come.”

Somehow, the Red Sox were able to acquire their ideal starting pitcher without using Casas as a piece in the trade deal, which amplifies both his and fans’ confidence in how much the front office and coaching staff believe in him. It’s time for fans to start giving him the same respect. He’s not the first slow starter to play in the MLB, and he probably won’t be the last! As Casas himself said, hopefully, this past series from him is a good indication of what’s to come, even though we won’t see the true reflection of the changes he made until the middle of this arduous road trip, in which we could use his strength and extensive knowledge of the zone.